Staph Infections
About Staph Infections
Staph infections are caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which many healthy people carry on their skin and in
their noses, without ill.
But when the skin is punctured or broken, staph bacteria can cause infections in the wound and the other can lead
health problems.
You can help prevent staph infections in your family by encouraging regular hand washing and daily bathing and
hold areas that have been cut clean or covered.
How spread staph infections
Staph bacteria can spread to humans through contaminated surfaces, and from person. Children of a staph bacteria carry
Area of their body to another - and pass it on to other people - via dirty hands or fingernails. As good hand washing
crucial to avoid staph infections.
It is also important to the kids to clean their skin with a daily bath or shower. If your child has a skin
Condition such as eczema, which makes frequent bathing, ask your doctor for advice.
Causes as cuts, scrapes, and rashes due to allergic reactions or poison ivy - Keep areas of skin that have been injured
- Clean and covered, and follow your doctor's instructions.
Complications of Staph Infections
Staph bacteria can cause toxic shock syndrome, cellulitis, staphylococcal food poisoning, and these infections:
Folliculitis and furuncle
Folliculitis is an infection of the hair follicles, tiny pockets under the skin where hair shafts (strands) grow. In
Folliculitis, tiny white-headed pimples appear at the base of the hair shafts, sometimes with a small red area around each
Pimples. This infection often occurs in areas where there has been friction or irritation, as with shaving.
Folliculitis often clears up on its own with good skin hygiene. Sometimes it can currently be at a boil, or a
cook. With a boil, the staph infection spreads deeper and wider, often affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue (deeper
Tissue under the skin) and the oil-producing glands, called the sebaceous glands.
In the first stage, missing parents and children often in the skin either begins to itch or pain is mild.
Next, the skin turns red and begins to swell over the infected area. Finally, the skin is about the infection very
Tender and a whitish "head" appear. The head may break, and the cooking can begin, pus, blood flow or an amber-
colored liquid. Boils can occur anywhere on the skin, especially under the arms or in the groin or buttocks in children.
To relieve pain from a boil, try warm water soaks, a heating pad or hot water bottle applied to the skin for
about 20 minutes three or four times a day. Make certain that the used washcloth soaked for washed after each use.
Boils are occasionally treated with oral antibiotics and in some cases have to be drained surgically.
Impetigo
Impetigo skin can affect anywhere on the body but commonly occurs around the nose and mouth. It usually affects
Preschoolers and school-age children, especially in the summer months.
Impetigo caused by staph bacteria is characterized by large bubbles, the liquid, the first clear, then cloudy.
The blisters burst, ooze fluid, and develop a honey-colored crust. Impetigo may itch and can be spread by scratching.
Doctors usually treat an ointment, and depending on the severity, add oral antibiotics.
MRSA
You can Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), have heard of a type of staph bacteria with resistance
used to the antibiotics in general to treat staphylococcal infections. Although MRSA infections can be harder to treat, in most cases
they heal with proper care.
Most MRSA infections involve the skin, but sometimes MRSA can cause serious problems, such as bone infections, for example, or
Pneumonia. MRSA pneumonia is rare, but is more of a risk for children already suffering from the flu.
Scalded skin syndrome
Scalded skin syndrome (SSS) most often affects infants and children under 5 years. The disease usually begins with a localized
Staphylococcal infection of the skin, but the staph bacteria produce a toxin that affects the skin all over the body. The child has a
Fever, rash, and sometimes blisters. As bubbles burst and the rash happens, the top layer of skin is removed and the
Skin is red and raw, like a fire.
SSS is a serious disease that must be treated and monitored in a hospital. It acts on the body in the same manner as
severe burns. After treatment, most children make a full recovery.
Treatment of Staph Infections
Most localized skin infections caused by Staph washing the skin with an antibacterial cleaning treatment, warm impregnating
Application of an antibiotic ointment prescribed by the doctor, while the skin with a clean bandage. Thus, the
Infection spread, a towel, or even if you just enjoy clean an area of infected skin, then wash it.
Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic for your child's staph infection of the skin. If so, give the antibiotic on
Schedule for as many days as the doctor directs. More serious staph infections may require hospitalization.
Call the doctor if your child has an area of red, irritated or painful skin, especially if you see whitish pus-
filled areas or your child has a fever or feels sick. Also call the doctor if skin infections seem to be passing out
one family member to another, or if two or more family members have skin infections at the same time.